Black Widow (1954)

"Black Widow" Without A Lot of Bite....

Its really difficult to hate any film with a stellar cast such as Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, George Raft and Van Heflin. For that matters, its difficult to hate any of their individual films. Bring them together for one picture and "hate" might be a strong word, but "indifferent" fits the bill. "Black Widow" feels more like a Cinemascope experiment than a cohesive and engaging film. Cinemascope was brand spanking new and you could tell that 20th Century Fox was attempting to churn out as much product as possible in every genre possible. No matter if the material was particularly engaging or the scripts particularly good, the studio seemed to think the public would embrace anything that was spread out on the Cinemascope canvas. "Black Widow" is testament to this. At 94 minutes there is very little here other than a scenery chewing performance by Ginger Rogers, an understated and misused Gene Tierney and a campy story line that can't quite find its footing, even after its predictable conclusion. What does it have going for it? Lush cinematography, gorgeous colors and excellent 1950s chic sets do a lot to keep the viewer glued to the screen. Also, look out for an unusual Ginger Rogers role. She plays against type which serves the plot beautifully.

The DVD of this film is really extra special with not one but two mini-docs about Ginger Rogers and Gene Tierney. Also included is an isolated film score, an interactive pressbook, commentary and an "over the top" trailer that will leave you howling. It is really an excellent group of extras. The picture quality is truly luminous and the soundtrack is well spaced and exceptionally clear.

Movie **1/2
DVD **** August 11, 2008

Costume/Drawing Room Drama in Cinemascope!

For fans of the movie-created world of 50's New York Society, this one's a real treat. However if you are looking for a taught, hard-edged noir thriller, this ain't it! Tune in for the costumes, the hilarious over-the-top acting, and the stagey apartment sets all done in glorious color and Cinemascope as only Fox could do in the 50's. Apparently someone at Fox thought this little potboiler deserved the same cinematographic treatment as "Ben Hur"! Gene Tierney is lovely, Ginger Rogers is delightfully catty, and most of the rest of the cast is window dressing. Unfortunately, the mystery unravels a little too early to hold interest till the final frame. July 2, 2008

IN THE BEST WHO-DUNNIT TRADITION

Younger viewers would be unfamiliar with the type of story telling which needs a little concentration and attention to plot development. Black Widow leads us into a situation few of us would want to experience. Being involved more and more deeply in something out of our control, finally being suspected of murder. I saw this movie when it was released over 50 years ago and it still holds interest for me today. June 26, 2008

daisy kenyon

I thought this was a very good movie of Joan Crawford's. Would recommend it if you like the actress. June 23, 2008

More puce than noir

The year after the success of HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE Nunnally Johnson did another Cinemascope feature for Twentieth-Century Fox that this time featured two fabulous Manhattan swank and spacious apartments instead of just the one. Although BLACK WIDOW (the ill-fitting title is never explained) has been released for DVD as part of the Fox Noir series, there's almost nothing noir about it (except for one sequence, probably the best in the film, when the murder victim's hanged body is discovered); it's more of a melodramatic whodunit populated with many of Fox's slightly over-the-hill stars from the era, like Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, George Raft, and Van Heflin. The story (which like the direction is by Johnson) is extremely awkwardly constructed, and involves a very young writer (Peggy Ann Garner, giving the best performance in the film) whom Heflin takes into his life because of her apparent sweetness and naivete: only after she dies does he begin to see her story was much more complex than he had figured.

This is more of an ensemble piece than a star vehicle but Ginger Rogers, as a gossipy and catty theater diva, still dominates. She gives the part her all and is quite excellent in her final scenes, but she is almost singularly miscast in a part that was originally intended for Tallulah Bankhead. There's not much competition from the other performers: Gene Tierney is almost completely wasted, Raft gives an annoying one-note performance, and Reginald Gardiner is even more hilariously miscast than Rogers. He's supposed to be her "kept" husband--a kind of boytoy--, even though he's over fifty, fancies ugly ascots and has about zero muscle tone in his entire body. The film's real star might be said to be not even Rogers but rather its elaborate color scheme of blues, lavenders, roses, and (especially) puce. May 26, 2008

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